Fuller Bladeless Wind Turbine Technology

A US firm has developed bladeless wind turbine technology that could offer a solution to some of the problems that conventional wind turbines present the world with.

Solar Aero’s Fuller Wind Turbine is fully enclosed and, as such, ensures issues such as radar interference and bird strikes are avoided, while also producing energy-efficient power. The turbine incorporates a single rotating part and no heavily-loaded bearings whatsoever.

On this basis, it is anticipated that the unit will generate power at no higher cost than the equivalent fossil fuel incineration process. According to Solar Aero, the subtlety of this design makes installation close to radar sites and military establishments a viable proposition.

Fuller Wind Turbine

Development of the Fuller Wind Turbine has been ongoing since 2004 and, to date, a technology demonstrator has been produced, pending the creation of final production versions.

Production versions are expected to have a power output of up to 100 Kilowatts. While this places them significantly below larger wind power technologies, inventor Howard Fuller contests that large arrays of the devices will allow for large-scale power production to take place given that, without blades getting in the way, they can be grouped closely together.

Bladeless Wind Turbine

A further benefit of the new bladeless wind turbine design is reduced associated maintenance costs. One factor contributing to this is the removal of the need for high-level repair work to the blades and other components. “This enclosed turbine should produce significant power at half the life-cycle cost of the windmills”, Mr Fuller stated, in reference to this.

Potential applications for the Fuller bladeless wind turbine include domestic settings given that – while 100kW is the maximum output - miniaturised variants are set to be produced that generate closer to 5kW.

“The fact that people are coming up with such a variety of solutions testifies to the vibrancy and viability of the wind energy market, and shows that there is a lot of potential”, Renewable UK representative Nick Medic told the Green Futures website.

Fuller Wind Turbine image copyright of Howard Fuller and reproduced here with grateful thanks

See also:

Metamorphic Wind Turbine Blade Designs

Progress in Energy Efficient Wind Turbine Design